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Entering the post-season, the Boston Red Sox figured they were holding a pair of aces. But the upstart Tampa Bay Rays have turned up two trump cards of their own.
After battering Josh Beckett with home runs in Game 2, the Rays followed suit against Jon Lester. And once again, B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria forced the Red Sox to fold.
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Upton and Longoria each homered off Lester in the third inning, launching the Rays to a 9-1 victory and a 2-1 lead in the American League Championship Series.
Tampa Bay capped the rout with two late homers - a three-run blast by Rocco Baldelli in the eighth and a solo shot by Carlos Pena in the ninth.
Technically, the Rays gained back home-field advantage. Even if Boston wins the next two here, the best-of-seven series would return to Florida. But without saying it out loud, the relaxed, confident Rays - needing two more wins for a World Series berth - are hoping they can pull off a miracle in Fenway Park.
"Nobody thought we'd win like this," Carl Crawford said.
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Added Longoria: "I think in our minds we wanted to steal one out of here. I don't like to give anybody too much credit, but we didn't really think it was going to be this one, at least I didn't. Just from the way [Lester has] pitched in previous starts, he feeds off energy in this ball park, and we were able to kind of suck the energy right out from the get-go."
For all their offensive heroics, the Rays also got splendid pitching from starter Matt Garza and two relievers. Garza worked six-plus innings and allowed one run on six hits.
"Garza is the main reason why we won that game," manager Joe Maddon said. "I really believe in that. The starting pitching sets the tone. Him doing what he did tonight permitted us to get into the flow of the game, get some runs and then maintain. He did not permit them to come back."
After Upton and Longoria keyed a four-run third inning, Crawford said he feared the vaunted Boston lineup might retaliate. Garza shut down the Sox in the third and through the sixth.
"When he put up a zero [in the third], I started feeling good about it," Crawford said.
Garza compiled an 11-7 record and 3.70 ERA after coming to Tampa Bay in a critical trade with Minnesota. The 24-year-old right-hander joined James Shields, Scott Kazmir, Sonnanstine and Edwin Jackson in the Rays precocious rotation.
Meanwhile, Baldelli, who hails from nearby Rhode Island, was once a long shot even to play in the post-season. He missed much of the season with a rare disease that causes general fatigue and inhibits muscle recovery.
The Rays' four homers tied an ALCS record, logged most recently by the Red Sox in Tampa Bay's 9-8 win Saturday night.
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